Best buy savings rates have been either cut or axed altogether this week, with top paying cash Isas, easy-access and fixed-rate accounts all hit.

Most notably, the Post Office has today pulled its best buy Premier Cash Isa paying 1.8 per cent, as the ‘Isa season’ has started with a whimper rather than a bang.On top of this, Virgin Money has also sliced the rate on another top bonus-free Isa. Its 1.75 per cent rate has been replaced by a new Issue 6 now paying a lower 1.61 per cent.

This is another crushing blow to savers who had hoped that things would begin to look up as the New Year began.

Rate plunge: Best buy savings accounts have taken a battering this week with providers pulling the top rates

Comparison website Moneyfacts says the run of good deals emerging dubbed Isa season, - which traditionally starts in December to catch any unused allowances and runs through until May, can normally be relied on to ‘liven up’ the savings market.

However, its data shows that in December 2012 there were a total of 73 Isas which were either new launches or new issues of fixed rates aimed at attracting any unused Isa allowances.

While we are not yet at the month’s end, we areentering the fourth week, which means that there will need to be some frantic movement to even come anywhere near the 91 new Isas of last January with only 27 so far.

Savers last year were bemoaning their lot, yet the average rate for an Isa at this point in 2013was 1.87 per cent. Today the figure is 1.64 per cent.

Towards the end of last year, experts became increasingly optimistic savings competition could hot up.

It came after an announcement in November that the Funding for Lending Scheme - which allowed banks and building societies to tap into cheap cash from the Government, rather than rely on savers' deposits - was being scaled back, leading to more more optimistism about 2014.

Sylvia Waycot, editor at Moneyfacts, said: ‘Isa season is the equivalent of Christmas for savers, with lots of competitive rates, fanfares and razzmatazz, but so far this year it is turning out to be a bit of a lame duck.

‘As savings rates have been pretty dire of late, savers bank on Isa season to offer some respite from inflation and the taxman, but unless we have more products, choice will be limited.

‘Isas are the darling of the savings market but unless things pick up soon, sadly, we have the makings of a damp squib.’

Anna Bowes, director of Savings Champion, said: ‘It’s disappointing to see best buys rates falling as we head towards what is traditionally a competitive season which sees rates driven upwards.

‘It is still important for those who haven’t yet used their Isa allowance to make sure they don’t waste it – but as there is little good news at the moment, they may want to wait until closer to the end of the tax year, to see if any better offers become available.

‘Alternatively they can grab whatever is available now, with a view to transferring at a later date.’

Each year in April, savers are given a fresh Isa allowance that qualifies for tax-free interest. For 2013-14, the limit is £5,760 for cash Isas.

You can deposit anything up to this amount into a cash Isa until 5 April 2014. The new cash Isa limit – revealed in the Autumn Statement back in December – is £5,940.

Other top savings rates have gone too

As well pulling its tax-free offering, the Post Office also axed its easy-access savings account paying 1.5 per cent earlier in the week as savings rates continue to suffer.

The overall best buy – the Coventry Online Saver 5 – which offered savers a 1.6 per cent rate has also been closed today.

It has left limited options to savers who want a simple account, with the highest rate available now just 1.55 per cent and has left the independent This is Money savings tables looking threadbare on easy-access choices.

Fixed-rates, which saw a few new launches towards the end of 2013, have also suffered. Today, Firstsave has pulled its best buy two-year rate of 2.35 per cent while Shawbrook Bank cut its rate from 2.3 per cent to 2.15 per cent.

WHAT ARE THE BEST SAVINGS DEALS?

On the Isa front, the current easy access best
buy comes from Stafford Railway Building Society at 1.75 per cent but this does not accept transfers. savers should also beware that good rates from small building societies can vanish quickly.

Britannia Select Cash Isa 2
allows transfers in and is bonus-free and pays 1.75 per cent - but only if you make two or less withdrawals in a year. Make more and the rate falls to 0.25 per cent.

Darlington BS pays 1.70 per cent on its cash Isa and accepts transfers.